We’ve teamed up with the RSPB to help local biodiversity by reintroducing the rare Small-flowered Catchfly to our urban greenspace, as part of the Plantlife led Colour in the Margins project.
Colour in the Margins falls under the wider Back from the Brink programme, made possible thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, which aims to save 20 species from extinction and benefit more than 200 more through 19 projects that span England.
The project is working to secure the future of rare arable plant species in England and raise the profile of the importance of arable habitats for wildlife. The wildflower Small-flowered Catchfly is classified as endangered in the UK however Cornwall is a hotspot for this species.
Hannah Gibbons, Farmland Monitoring and Advisory Officer at the RSPB and Hetty Ninnis, Sustainable Landscapes Manager at Newquay Orchard, sowed the wildflower seeds here at Newquay Orchard in the community field back in April 2021.
Hannah visited again recently and her survey declared the reintroduction of Small-flowered Catchfly a success! 200 Small-flowered Catchfly plants were identified in a 9 m2 area and it is estimated there are now 3,000 growing across Newquay Orchard’s 7 acre site.
Hetty Ninnis said: “Small-flowered Catchfly is very rare in the UK and we’ve created a really valuable seed collection site here at the orchard that will increase numbers of this little plant in the UK for the future.”
“Increasing biodiversity is a really vital piece of work that we do here at Newquay Orchard and whilst conducting the survey we also found Weasels’ Snout and Field Woundwort growing successfully. These are 2 other rare species that used to thrive in our fields and we’re very happy to see them here,” she added.
Small-flowered Catchfly flowers from June to October and it’s leaves are covered in sticky hairs where the name ‘catchfly’ originates from. The plant has declined in recent years as it is vulnerable to changes in land management and common practices involved in intensive farming.
A number of farms near Newquay dedicate fields to managing sacrificial spring barley as a form of conservation. This provides a habitat for the Corn Bunting bird species and has been found to simultaneously support numbers of rare arable plants including Small-flowered catchfly. Two fields to the north of Newquay have been managed as sacrificial barley for Corn Bunting for over twenty years and a recent survey has revealed the presence of thousands of Small-flowered Catchfly plants.
Here at Newquay Orchard we are dedicated to promoting biodiversity on our 7 acre greenspace in the heart of Newquay and this is an important development that we’re pleased to announce. Hetty and her team hope whilst sharing these learnings with volunteers and the local community more people will understand the importance of helping native flora and fauna thrive.
Read more about the Small-flowered Catchfly.
Thank you to Lisa Williams, a Newquay Orchard volunteer, who captured these beautiful images of the rare Small-flowered Catchfly. You can catch Lisa’s photography in the Newquay Orchard Art Exhibition.
